Saturday, June 25, 2016

He affectionately called me a little asshole for taking his picture and we cried about our friends who've been hurt in war and death and he told me his favorite secret fishing spot in the Sierras.
I'm going to go visit him and his wife Heidi and learn more about fishing and the backcountry and climbing.

This.

This is what makes the pain we encounter in life tolerable...when we meet other humans who honor us by sharing their stories and we store a piece of that history in our dusty coat pockets until we can pass it along to someone else.

Thursday, June 9, 2016

It took awhile, but eventually it found its' voice and the goal was to encourage women who broke the mold.

Women who wanted to be better cowboygirls, hands, horsemen....women who wanted to be masters of living a life out loud.
And then I became jaded and discouraged and I quit writing because I felt for the most part, we as women weren't building each other up, and we had lost sight of the goal to become better at life....in whatever capacity fate was leading us...be that horseback or on high heels.

But then I stumbled upon this post on Instagram, and it breathed life back into me, and my heart, and my pen.

THIS is what Buckaroo Barbie is about and why I started writing in the first place.

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Everything will probably not go according to plan this Holiday season, and that’s ok. The kitchen floor might be sticky for the entirety of December, and that’s ok. You might not have made Martha Stewart worthy gifts for all the neighbors, and that’s ok. You and your family might not get along and discuss things of value while wearing matching sweaters, and that’s also ok.

When I was a little girl one Christmas I read a seasonal book targeted at Christian women and it made a huge impression on me. The first chapter included two variations of the same scenario. The first described an idyllic wife, gliding through her custom made farmhouse in a vintage apron, enjoying the smells and sights of her beautiful home and children. Her parents arrive through the front door, bringing with them a red flannel sack full of educational and tasteful toys. At some point towards the end of the scene the woman’s husband goes whizzing past the front door in a horse drawn sleigh.

The second scenario sketches a very different picture, with the same players. The absent minded wife rushes through her home, listening to the grating sounds of her children’s voices and the loathsome Uncle Freddie who is watching football. Whether Uncle Freddie is loathsome because he is watching football or simply because he is loathsome is left to our discretion. The dinner is not on time, food is burnt, and the kitchen floor is a sticky mess from the baking done earlier in the day. Her parents burst through the front door amid chaos and the presents distributed are plastic and cheap, and there are so many of them!

The comparison made a huge impression on me. Obviously. It’s almost 11 bloody years later and any time I hear my mums say something not being spot on,s or something she didn’t do this year, I think of that damn book and I want to burn it. Because you know what? The people who love you remember the spirit of an event, not the magazine-worthy perfection of it. I remember the old Christmas albums of Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney playing in the background. I don’t remember whether the kitchen floor was sticky or clean, but I do remember having a full belly. I remember my mums smiling indulgently at my dad when he did something odd. I don’t remember if our toys were strictly educational, but I do remember that they catered to who we were as little people. I don’t remember my mums ever wearing an apron, but there was always room for unannounced visitors at our table.

The point of all this reminiscing is...I think we get so caught up with the way things are “supposed to be” or the way they’re supposed to appear via Instagram that we forget that the spirit of the matter takes place throughout the whole year, whether you set up a creche with a baby Jesus, use a menorah to keep track of Hanukkah, or gift to the poor during Milad un Nabi. It’s the heart of the matter the other 11 months that counts.

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you know that when Requisite (formerly LavenderHaus), asked if I would be brand rep for them, I said YES!! very enthusiastically and all in capitals. Just like that. And what made me so interested in the first place was the ethos behind Requisite, which is one of catering to and dressing driven, outspoken, unconventional, and refined women.

Here's a link to the interview I did with Requisite where we talk about style, failure, and the perfect red lip. I hope you take a look and let us know how YOU define excellence.

The clothes are amazing, beautiful, and high quality. Adrianna, the resident BA behind Requisite, sent me a box of goodies and included in it was this gorgeous Ava's Aztec Cardigan. During finals week I haven't been feeling very pretty or motivated to fix myself up, so being able to throw this cozy beauty on over a Little Black Dress like I'm wearing here, or skinny jeans and boots and still look put together has been a life saver.

And just in case you need a last minute gift in time for Christmas, use the code BRANNAN15 for 15% off when you check out.

Friday, November 20, 2015

I can feel the satisfaction building up deep within my gut where I store all the words….I’ve written all day long despite feeling like I’m fighting off the flu and after a 3-hour nap I am almost feeling Liz-like again.

What are your plans for this evening/weekend? Tonight I’m going to watch the first Mockingjay movie in my coziest sweats and dream of a day in the future where one can simply snap one’s fingers and a pizza will appear.

Have a good weekend and here’s some awesome people/movies/songs/artists oh just things you should check out from around the great big cyber world…but seriously....CHECK THEM OUT.